GOD’S WILL IS THAT YOU BE SAVED!!!  DELIVERED FROM SIN, JUDGEMENT, HELL, & ETERNAL PUNISMENT.  READ 1 TIMOTHY CHAPTER 2, VERSE 3 BELOW.

This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,  who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 

A prayer model you can read through to become born again into the family of God

“Heavenly Father, I come to You admitting that I am a sinner. I understand that my sin separates me from You, and I know that I cannot save myself. Lord Jesus, I need You!

I believe that You are the Son of God. Thank You for coming to earth and dying on the cross as the perfect sacrifice for the sins I have committed. I believe You bore my sins and rose from the grave three days later, defeating death and sin once and for all. Your words are true!

I repent of my sins and iniquities. I turn away from my past, and I turn toward You. Right now, I confess with my mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord. By faith, I thankfully receive Your free gift of salvation and I NOW trust You as my Lord and Savior.

Come into my life, Lord Jesus; come into my heart and take residence there by Your Holy Spirit. I surrender my will to Yours. Be my Savior, my Lord, and my Friend from this day forward. Thank You for Your grace, Your forgiveness, and the promise of eternal life.

Amen

Pray and read Psalm 51 out loud.

Be gracious to me, God, according to Your faithfulness; According to the greatness of Your compassion, wipe out my wrongdoings.² Wash me thoroughly from my guilt And cleanse me from my sin.³ For I know my wrongdoings, And my sin is constantly before me.⁴ Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge.

⁵ Behold, I was brought forth in guilt, And in sin my mother conceived me.⁶ Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in secret You will make wisdom known to me.⁷ Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; Cleanse me, and I will be whiter than snow.⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness, Let the bones You have broken rejoice.⁹ Hide Your face from my sins And wipe out all my guilty deeds.

¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.¹¹ Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.¹² Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And sustain me with a willing spirit.¹³ Then I will teach wrongdoers Your ways, And sinners will be converted to You.

¹⁴ Save me from the guilt of bloodshed, God, the God of my salvation; Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.¹⁵ Lord, open my lips, So that my mouth may declare Your praise.¹⁶ For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You do not take pleasure in burnt offering.¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, God, You will not despise.

NEXT STEPS!  Purchase a bible immediately if you don’t have one.  Jeff recommends translations: NASB, LSB, NKJV, KJV, & ESV.  Getting a bible with thumb indexing and Jesus’ words in red makes for a good experience too.  Biblegateway.com is a free website with multiple online versions available completely free.

SPEAK WITH FRIENDS AND SEARCH FOR A VIBRANT BIBLE CHURCH IN YOUR AREA. 

GOD BLESS YOU AND WELCOME TO THE FAMILY!!!!!

Translations Jeff recommends avoiding

1. The Passion Translation (TPT)

• The Issue: Scholars argue this is an interpretive paraphrase rather than a true translation. It was produced by a single author (Brian Simmons) instead of a diverse committee of scholars.

• Criticism: It frequently adds emotional or theological language that is not present in the original Greek or Hebrew manuscripts. Because of this, it was recently removed from major platforms like Bible Gateway.

2. The New World Translation (NWT)

• The Issue: This is the version used by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

• Criticism: Secular and Christian scholars alike criticize it for changing the text to fit specific denominational doctrines. The most famous example is John 1:1, where it alters the text to deny the deity of Jesus Christ.

3. The Message (MSG)

• The Issue: A highly stylized “contemporary” paraphrase by Eugene Peterson.

• Criticism: While great for casual reading, scholars find it problematic for study because it uses modern idioms and slang that can obscure the original meaning. It is often viewed more as a commentary than a Bible.

4. The Amplified Bible (AMP)

• The Issue: It provides multiple synonyms in brackets for a single word.

• Criticism: Linguists call this the “lexical fallacy.” They argue that a word’s meaning is determined by its context, not by every possible definition. Including every possible synonym can lead to “over-interpreting” a verse.

5. The Living Bible (TLB)

• The Issue: A paraphrase created in the 1970s by Kenneth Taylor (the predecessor to the more accurate New Living Translation).

• Criticism: Because it was one man’s personal attempt to make the Bible easier for his children to understand, it takes massive creative liberties and often misses the technical nuances required for serious teaching or ministry.